I drew my Hayden. "As I said, Baiel, I'm still in command of this expedition."
He shrugged. "You've out-Haydened me, naturally; any Ranker could. If I reach for mine, you'll burn me where I stand."
"I'm glad you understand that. Give me your weapons—you, Baiel, and all your followers. Make any excuse you like to the tribe. You'll never have an activated Hayden again, for hunting or any other purpose."
Without resistance, they allowed themselves to be disarmed. I pulled the charges on all their weapons and negativized them.
"You settle everything so smoothly," Baiel laughed. "Next, of course, you'll propose a—"
I cut him short. "All the expedition is here in the cave with us. They all understand the differences between Baiel's objectives and mine. The issue is clear enough for a vote." Slowly the hands went up. I counted twenty-two in Baiel's faction, more than thirty in my own.
"So typical!" Baiel snorted. "So much like an Earthman! The will of the majority—our universal cure-all for all things."
"You agree to abide by it, Baiel?"
His eyebrows arched in a mocking imitation of surprise. "Can an Earthman do anything else, Captain?"
"So that we won't have a repetition of this morning's episode," I said, "I'm giving this order: None of us will return to the Olympus again for any reason without my consent. If it is violated, I'll take disciplinary action under the terms of the Space Code."